02
by Alexandria the Great
Summary: Duo and Hilde are top-notch execs with a small boy named Richard. They hardly have time to burn. But what happens when the young family is threatened to be torn apart?


Hello Great fans! I have a three-shot her for you (guaranteed to be better than that crap "The Leading Ladies") This is my first authentic 2H, and there won't be much fluff, unfortunately. To clarify, Hilde and Duo are married, and Richard "Rocky" Maxwell is their son, and an only child. I warn you, break out the tissue; this will be a tear-jerker. NJoy.

Xoxo,

Alexandria the Great, Queen of Geats

At five a.m., Rocky didn't have to be up for another hour, but the hustling and bustling of his mother and father interrupted any quiet that may have yielded his continued sleep. He lay in his racecar bed staring at his iridescent-star-strewn ceiling, listen to his father fuss about which tie would go best with these pants (not that he understood why it mattered), and his mother trying calmly to tell him that "the last one" was the appropriate choice. Rocky turned over and looked at his Dragon Ball Z alarm clock, due to erupt at six-thirty with a mighty, "Kamehameha!" He turned back over, hoping that the alarm would malfunction and save him the despair of leaving his NASCAR cradle for the cold day. And it was quite a cold day, as the governor had decided for the "good of the children" they needed to experience winter. Rocky hated it. He much more preferred the weather to be constantly pleasant. Then, as his mother would contend, they wouldn't need to waste money on winter clothes. Rocky curled back up into his favorite side sleeping position, praying partially to God and partially to the alarm clock for it not to go off.

His prayer was denied. The door to his room jolted open and his mother's figure outlined in the darkness of his room. Rocky cringed. She strolled across the threshold, holding her arms in some bizarre position as she subtracted his sheltering blinds with one sweep. Rocky groaned.

"Rocky, honey, wake up. You have get up and get dressed, baby." She said with her lips folded in a tiny roll. She was sticking her dangly little earring that he remembered fondly playing with as a toddler into her extra ear holes. His father had one extra ear hole, and promised that Rocky could have one, too when he was ten. He liked that extra hole, and the little diamond that his father put in it. Rocky's mother unfolded her lips and produced another earring for her left ear. Rocky heard his father call up:

"Hilde! Baby! Is Rocky up?"

"Yes! I just got him!" she smiled at her little boy's clutched figure. She crawled on his bed and hovered over him, laying a red-outlined lip print on his temple. He turned his head to grin at her. She smelled pretty, like something in a home accessory store.

"There's my little man."

"Big man."

"That's right," she agreed, nuzzling him and kissing him again, "and big men go to school, right?"

"Right," he murmured, still smiling. She conveniently left out the fact that the strongest man in the world, his dad, wasn't going to school today. Hilde removed herself from his bed and tussled his already-scruffy hair. She strode out the door, leaving it open for the noise and light elsewhere in the house to further shake Rocky's sleep. He reluctantly forced himself from beneath his nurturing comforter and lumbered out of his room to the bathroom.

After a good washing, teeth-brushing, and hair grooming, Rocky shimmied into 100 cotton boxer and an A-shirt, then pulled his designer jeans and polo shirt over it. He rolled his socks on easily, and flip-flopped in trying to tie his shoes, something he was still learning the advanced logistics to. He scampered down the stairs to the kitchen, where the family of three at breakfast.

Duo was at the table with his back turned to the stairs. As he talked on his cell phone and scribbled away at this-and-that-important document, his great long copper hair shook and quivered. Rocky eyed it enviously, at the same time grateful that his mother let him keep his shoulder-blade-length rat tail, something he considered venerable. But to have hair like his father's—those undulating waves of alternating brown, browner, and golden brown—was his goal the minute he was able to drive, and then he'd be all grown up and Mom could say what she wanted to. He smiled at the thought and placed himself at the island in the kitchen beside his ranting-into-the-phone father, who duly acknowledged his scooting the chair back and smiled, giving him a playful fist to the cheek. He agreed with whatever whoever that was on the line said, and then,

"Hold on a sec, I've got another call coming in," he said, looking at the screen. "Shit," he muttered when he read the name. "Vic, lemme hit you right back." He clicked over. "Mason! What's up...uh huh...I told you that I was going to do that tomorrow...when I get the chance...no, that's you're...no, I said, that's your responsibility...because I don't know a thing about that specific time period...you told me you did, and your job is contingent upon you knowing that..." and so on. Rocky looked at his mother, who was cook and managing three cell conversations, two lines on one phone, and one on the other. She did this while making perfect pancakes.

"No, godammit!" her voice elevated in frustration, "He hates blue...get rid of it! All of it! I don't care! I emphasized to you, over and over again, silver and green, sometimes red, but never blue!...No, no excuses! If you screw this up, I don't know how you'll keep you job...put her on the line...Carrie, hold on," next phone, "Yeah, Josh? Yumi? When did you get on the phone? Well, I'm busy, too! I'm not even at my office, I'm still at home, cooking breakfast," flip of two pancakes, perfectly round and tawny in color, shuffles eggs about pan, "well, what did he say...then what does he want me to do?...yeah, whatever...uh huh, hold on a sec," click over, bacon off the range, Cream of Wheat begins to boil, "Listen, I don't care what you had, forget it and okay the import of the sushi, crepe paper, sweet rolls, Belgian chocolate, and Cuban cigars. I also want the porcelain I picked out from the catalogue...it's on my desk, page six-hundred-something, I marked it with a post-it. Don't scam on the frosting, and, now that I think about it, make damned sure that there is more rice than sour cream." Open oven, take out cinnamon buns and biscuits, check two-way, click over, "Because, Eric, I want to be able to taste the chicken, if that's okay with you...uh huh...that liar! I never got them...why didn't fix it! Damn it, Eric! No, later, I'll be there in about an hour and a half." Both phones off, pouring orange juice. She took a breath, assembled in a flash a plate with six pancakes, a pile of bacon on the side, a pile of scrambled eggs on the other side, and two separate dishes for the Cream of Wheat, and the cinnamon buns with the biscuits. At the arrival of the food, Duo cut off whomever was talking on the phone and hung up on both lines. He took a well-deserved breath. "This looks excellent, Hilde."

"Yeah, Mom! I can't wait!"

"Well, don't. Here's your juice and milk Rocky and your coffee, Duo. Let's eat." Hilde poured herself a glass of strong hot tea. Duo served Rocky first, giving him his usual pancake, eggs, bacon, and side of grits that he had to eat before he could have his cinnamon bun. Duo stretched and dug into his own plate.

"How's the Señor's retirement banquet coming?" he asked with a smile.

"Hellishly slow and sloppily. If whomever nominated me to be the chair of this event is dead in twenty-four hours, I didn't do it." Rocky laughed. Duo smiled his laughter. "Poor Mommy, right, baby?"

"Yeah, poor Mom." Rocky agreed.

"And what about you, little man? Anything special going on today at school?"

"Um, I don't know, Dad. I know I have a spelling test tomorrow."

"Uh, oh. You better study, son."

"I know. I will. I already kinda did."

"Good," Hilde commented after a sip of tea, "the more you see it, the better you'll know it."

Rocky smiled and poked at his pancakes until he found a piece good enough to put in his mouth. "So, Dad, what're you gonna negotiate at work today?"

Hilde and Duo both chuckled, and Duo said, "Well, we're going to look over a contract and see if we want to buy the rights to make this documentary. It'll be aired universally, so that means even people on earth will get to see it."

"Wow," Rocky uttered, genuinely overwhelmed.

Hilde picked up where Duo left off. "If you buy the rights, do you have any idea of the air date?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact. We're looking at next April."

"Oh, really? You think the shooting and editing will go smoothly?"

"With the amount I'm willing to pay, it better."

Hilde and Rocky chuckled. Duo stuffed down the last of his breakfast and cut a cinnamon roll in half to dip in his coffee. Hilde sipped down the rest of her tea and stood up, wiping her hands. She went around to Duo then, kissed his cheek, and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Ready to tame the beast?"

"Arr!"

Hilde giggled and began to braid down Duo's long growth. I only took a matter of minutes, and she secured the end with a fresh rubber band. Duo wiped his hands and mouth, and ceased Rocky.

"Aw, Dad! Put me down!"

"I'm still hungry. Maybe I'll have some nice Rocky!" he joked, playfully nibbling into Rocky's neck until he was pacified with Rocky's screeching giggle. "Go grab your back pack and let's hit the road!" Duo put him down and slapped his little bottom. Rocky hurried up the stairs, but stopped half-way to stick his head out over the railing:

"Hey, Dad, If we're early today, can I drive again?"

"What do you mean 'again?'" Hilde inquired, looking hard at Duo. Duo blushed and scratched his head.

"Tee-hee, I have no idea. Kids these days, eh? How bout 'em? He-he."

The death glare didn't waver.

"He-he..." Duo put his hands in his pockets and whistled, strolling away. Hilde rolled her eyes. Rocky hustled down the stairs just then, and hugged his mother.

"Bye-bye, Mom."

"Bye-bye baby. I love you, and have a good day."

"I love you, too." Duo grabbed his briefcase, his portfolio, three cell phones, a pager, a two-way, an agenda, and the car keys. He was used to carrying all of them, and had some weird arrangement to hold them all securely as he went to the car. Hilde watched them through one of the front windows. Rocky hopped in the front seat, when he knew specifically that she didn't like that. Duo, of course, didn't say anything. He just tossed his things in the back, buckled them in, and started the engine. Hilde waved good bye. Duo pushed Rocky's head down so she wouldn't see him and waved with a huge grin. Rocky waved anyway as they backed out, driving off then in the direction of Rocky's school. Hilde smiled after they left, collecting her revised and otherwise papers to put in her briefcase. _Those are my boys..._


End file.
